Shoplifting Losses in Britain

There were 631,391 incidents of retail theft in Britain between 2012 to 2013, according to the British Retail Consortium. Out of those incidents, 9 percent of theft incidents were reported to the police by retail shops.

Organized crime groups involved in the theft were targeting higher end items, such as electrical goods, designer clothes and handbags, and power tools to be sold on the black market. These types of expensive items caused the average loss of a shoplifting incident to rise to $290 (£177), a rise of two thirds from the previous year.

The total loss from shoplifting in Britain was $839 Million (£511 Million), an increase of 166 percent from 2007-2008.